October 26

Every hiker left the Saufley's at a different time. Early in the morning, Ryan Marie and Bobcat made it out. The rest of us took our time waiting for laundry to come back and enjoying having Internet and computer access. Nat and Jane were the next to leave for town to eat a late breakfast at the local bakery. Then Tom left with his quick military stride. After lunch, I left to get a little solo hiking in and catch the crew at the North Fork Ranger Station. I made it up to the summit and ranger station around 9 pm. It was nice to night hike for a while and I had my headlamp on low beam red light to enjoy the stars and the dark, but the light pollution from Los Angeles to my southeast hindered my view of the night sky. I also noticed Poodle Dog Bush along the trail and immediately switched to bright light and spent most of my hike up here dodging that nasty poisonous weed. I am camped with Nat, Jane and Tom tonight and it sounds like everyone is of the same mindset to get up early and avoid hiking in the heat.